Our tradition teaches that the Torah isn't just a book; it's a blueprint for creation, a manifestation of God's very being. And the luchot, the tablets upon which the Ten Commandments were inscribed, hold a profound secret.
“The tablets were the work of God and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets,” (Exodus 32:16). It sounds straightforward. But let’s dig a little deeper.
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi shares a powerful image: he says that every single day, a Divine Voice rings out from Mount Horev – the very place where the Torah was given! – lamenting that people aren't engaging with Torah. Why the urgency? Because, as it says, “The tablets were the work of God.” The message? Ignoring Torah is, in a way, ignoring God. God's "occupation," so to speak, is Torah itself. (Matnot Kehuna; see Tanḥuma, Ki Tisa 16). And what about that word "engraved" – ḥarut in Hebrew? The Rabbis play with this word in a beautiful way. Rabbi Yehuda suggests we read it not as ḥarut, “engraved,” but as ḥerut – freedom. Freedom from what, you ask? Rabbi Nehemya says it's freedom from the angel of death! The Rabbis expand on this, saying it's freedom from suffering itself.
Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili takes it even further. He says that if the angel of death dared to complain to God that he was created without purpose, God would respond that he has dominion over every nation except the Jewish people, because they have been granted freedom through the Torah. That’s a powerful statement about the power and protection inherent in living a life connected to Torah.
But, as we know, the story of the tablets is intertwined with one of the most painful episodes in our history: the Golden Calf. The Torah tells us, "The people saw that Moses tarried in descending from the mountain…" (Exodus 32:1).
What does it mean that Moses "tarried?" Well, the Rabbis in Shemot Rabbah tell us that the people became impatient. Moses had promised to return in forty days with the Torah. But six hours into the fortieth day, he still hadn't come down. Six hours! And panic set in.
The Rabbis say that the "accuser" – the yetzer hara, the evil inclination – seized the opportunity. The people saw Moses suspended between heaven and earth, and they lost faith. In their fear, they turned to Aaron, demanding a new god.
Ḥur, a righteous man, tried to reason with them, reminding them of the miracles God had performed. But they wouldn't listen. In fact, they killed him. When Aaron saw what happened to Ḥur, he realized he was in danger. He knew he had to buy time.
So, he agreed to build an altar. He told them he needed to do it himself, to ensure it was done properly. His real intention? To delay them until Moses returned. But, alas, Moses didn't come back soon enough. The next day, the people rose early and, as the prophet Zephaniah laments, "corrupted all their exploits" (Zephaniah 3:7).
"The people sat to eat and drink, and they rose to revel" (Exodus 32:6) – in idol worship. The Rabbis point out a pattern: whenever we find the word "sitting" (yeshiva) in the Torah, it often precedes a mishap. Think of the generation of the Dispersion, who "settled" (vayeshvu) in Shinar and then tried to build the Tower of Babel. Or the brothers who "sat" (vayeshvu) to eat bread and ended up selling Joseph into slavery. Or when Israel "settled" (vayeshev) in Shittim and succumbed to licentiousness. In each case, sitting, settling, became a prelude to disaster.
Here, too, "sitting" leads to idol worship. God, seeing what was happening, tells Moses, "Descend!" (Exodus 32:7). But Moses faces another obstacle: angels of destruction! He's afraid to descend. The text tells us, “For I was in dread due to the wrath and the fury” (Deuteronomy 9:19).
In desperation, Moses grabs hold of the Divine throne. God protects him with a cloud. But God insists that Moses must descend, telling him it's a demotion. Why? Because, God says, "Your people…have acted corruptly" (Exodus 32:7).
But Moses isn't having it. He pleads with God, "Now You are calling them my people; they are only Your people." He reminds God to "Relent from Your enflamed wrath and reconsider the evil for Your people" (Exodus 32:12).
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai teaches that Moses wouldn't stop praying until God once again called them His people. Only then did God "reconsider the evil that He had spoken of doing to His people" (Exodus 32:14).
Finally, God offers a glimmer of hope: "In this world, because the evil inclination is in them, they craft idols. But in the future, I will uproot the evil inclination from within them and I will grant them a heart of flesh," just as it says in Ezekiel: "I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:26).
So, what can we take away from this story? It’s a reminder of the constant struggle between our higher and lower selves, between connection and disconnection. It underscores the power of Torah as a source of freedom and protection. And it offers a hopeful vision of a future where we are finally freed from the impulses that lead us astray, a future where we all have a heart of flesh, ready to embrace the Divine.
“The tablets were the work of God and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets” (Exodus 32:16). “The tablets were the work of God.” Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Each and every day, a Divine Voice emerges from Mount Ḥorev and proclaims: ‘Woe unto the creations for the affront to the Torah, as anyone who does not regularly engage in the Torah is ostracized from before the Holy One blessed be He,’ as it is stated: “The tablets were the work of God.”22God’s occupation, as it were, is involvement in Torah, and therefore anyone who ignores Torah ignores God (Matnot Kehuna; see Tanḥuma, Ki Tisa 16). “Engraved [ḥarut] on the tablets.” Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Yirmeya, and the Rabbis, Rabbi Yehuda says: Do not read it as ḥarut, but rather as ḥerut – freedom from the exiles. Rabbi Neḥemya says: Freedom from the angel of death. The Rabbis say: Freedom from suffering. Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili said: If the angel of death were to come and say before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘You created me in this world for naught,’ He would say: ‘I granted you dominion over every nation in the world except for this nation, to whom I granted freedom.’ That is, “ḥarut on the tablets.” “The people saw that Moses tarried in descending from the mountain, and the people assembled around Aaron and said to him: Rise, make us a god that will go before us, because this man Moses, who took us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him” (Exodus 32:1). “The people saw that Moses tarried [boshesh].” What is “tarried [boshesh]”? Six hours had passed [ba’u shesh] and he had not descended. Why? It is because he had stipulated to them: In forty days I will bring you the Torah. When six hours passed [on the fortieth day] and Moses had not descended, immediately, “the people assembled around Aaron.” The Rabbis say: The accuser found his opportunity at that moment, as Moses was seen suspended between the heavens and earth, and they were pointing at him with a finger and saying: “Because this man Moses.” At that moment, Ḥur confronted them and said to them: ‘You fools,23Literally, you whose heads were severed at the neck. do you not recall what miracles the Holy One blessed be He performed on your behalf?’ Immediately, they arose against him and killed him. They surrounded Aaron, as it is stated: “The people assembled around Aaron.” They said to him: ‘Just as we did to that one, so we will do to you.’ When Aaron saw that, he was afraid, as it is stated: “Aaron saw and he built an altar [mizbe’aḥ] before it [lefanav]” (Exodus 32:5). What is mizbe’aḥ? Due to the one who was slaughtered before him [min hazavuaḥ shelefanav]. Another matter, “he built an altar,” they sought to build an altar with him, but he did not allow them to do so. He said to them: ‘Allow me, and I will build it myself, as it is not in keeping with the honor due the altar for another to build it.’ But Aaron intended to delay matters. He said: ‘By the time I build it by myself, Moses will descend.’ He built it, but Moses did not descend. Immediately, they arose early the next day, as the prophet cries out: “However, they arose early and corrupted all their exploits” (Zephaniah 3:7). “The people sat to eat and drink, and they rose to revel” (Exodus 32:6) in idol worship. Wherever you find sitting [yeshiva], you find a mishap, as we found regarding the generation of the Dispersion, as it is stated: “They found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they settled [vayeshvu] there” (Genesis 11:2). What mishap was there? “They said: Come let us build us a city” (Genesis 11:4). “They sat [vayeshvu] to eat bread” (Genesis 37:25), and it is written: “They sold Joseph” (Genesis 37:28). “Israel settled [vayeshev] in the Shitim” (Numbers 25:1). What mishap was there? “The people began to engage in licentiousness with the daughters of Moav” (Numbers 25:1). What was their end? “Those who died [in the plague were twenty-four thousand]” (Numbers 25:9). Here, too, it is sitting, [implying] idol worship: “The people sat to eat….” The Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘They rose to revel in idol worship, and you are sitting here? “Descend!”’ (Exodus 32:7). At that moment, Moses sought to descend, but he encountered angels of destruction. He feared them and he did not descend, as it is written: “For I was in dread due to the wrath and the fury” (Deuteronomy 9:19). What did Moses do? He went and grasped the [Divine] throne, as it is stated: “He grasps the surface of His throne and spreads His cloud over it” (Job 26:9); the Holy One blessed be He spread [His cloud] and protected him. He said: “Rise, descend quickly from here” (Deuteronomy 9:12). [Moses] said: ‘I am afraid.’ Come and see how potent iniquities are. In the past he had overcome them, but now he feared them.24In the past Moses had disputed with and overcome the angels, but now he was afraid of them (see Maharzu). “For I was in dread due to the wrath and the fury,” five angels of destruction were there: Wrath, fury, anger, destruction, and annihilation. At that moment, the three patriarchs came, and overcame three of them. Wrath and fury remained. Moses said: ‘Master of the universe, please, arise from Your Throne of Glory and overcome one, and I [will overcome] one,’ as it is stated: “Arise, Lord, in Your wrath” (Psalms 7:7).25This is understood to mean: ‘Arise, Lord, and hold back Your wrath’ – i.e. the angel of wrath, one of the angels of destruction that remained. And I will overcome fury, as it is stated: “He said to destroy them, had it not been for Moses, His chosen one, who stood before Him in the breach to turn back His fury” (Psalms 106:23). Immediately, the Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Descend, it is a demotion for you.’ He said to Him: ‘Why?’ [God said:] “For your people…have acted corruptly” (Exodus 32:7). Moses said to Him: ‘Now You are calling them my people; they are only Your people. “Relent from Your enflamed wrath and reconsider the evil for Your people”’ (Exodus 32:12). Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: Moses did not move from prayer until the Holy One blessed be He called them His people, as it is stated: “The Lord reconsidered the evil that He had spoken of doing to His people” (Exodus 32:14). The Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘In this world, because the evil inclination is in them, they craft idols. But in the future, I will uproot the evil inclination from within them and I will grant them a heart of flesh,’ just as it says: “I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).
